Ven. Banabhante

A short Biography of Sadhanananda Mahathera (Banabhante বনভন্তে)

On January 8, 1920, Banabhante was born in a village, Muroghona of 115 Maghban Mauza, which was located six miles south of the Rangamati hill tracts of Bangladesh. Venerable Banabhante, named as Rathindra when he was a house-living person, was born in a middle-class family of farmers in the Chakma nation. His father’s name was Mr. Harumohan Chakma, and mother’s name was Birapudi Chakma. He had five siblings: Baikartan Chakma, Padmainginee Chakma, Jahar Lal Chakma, Monoranjan Chakma (Bhupendra Lal Chakma), and Amrika Ranjan Chakma (Babul Chakma).

Banabhante, a name of great sanctity pronounced with high veneration amongst the Buddhists of all walks of life living in the greater Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) including that of the Buddhist communities living in others part of the land. Ever since His boyhood, He developed a very keen interest in the reading of books. He would spend most of His time in studying history, science, literature and the book relating to the biography. He earned an enormous inspiration for the future course of life through the reading of books. In comparison to others, He was different by nature and was averse to enjoying pleasure and comfort. He gained the ‘forth-going’ (pabajjja) on the full moon day of falgun (Bengali calendar month) in the year 1949 under Ven. Dipankar Sreegyan Mahathera, the then abbot of Nandan Kanan Bauddha Vihara in Chittagong. Finding the environment not conducive to gaining spiritual development there, he went back to his native area and off the locality, entering into the dense forest of Dhanpata by the Karnafuli, threw Himself in concentration at a stretch for 12 years in solitude. At time, in the wake of inundation due to Kaptai Dum, He shifted to Dighinala, the north of CHT on invitation. There He was ordained in the order of monks as Sadhanananda Bhikkhu in 1961. Soon He came to be widely known as Bana Bhante (means the forest monk). After 1970, on invitation, He then shifted to Tintila Bana Vihara. In 1974, on the fervent invitation and Royal patronization of chakma Raj family including the upasak-upasikas and also the and also considering the bright and prosperous future of the Buddha’s dispensation, He along with His disciples came up to Rangamati following which, the present Rajbana Vihara came to being. Since then, He has been staying there since then. He was formally received as the Mahathera on 14 February, in 1980. Hiss Holiness Ven. Banabhante authored many books, booklets, on the Buddha’s doctrine His write-ups also includes, poems, religious songs, articles in light of His profound knowledge and experience that He had obtained through concentration. He is universally recognized to have attained the Arahatship and regarded as Ariya Savaka. At present, the Rajbana Vihara has became a international spot of pilgrimage and is regularly visited by diplomats and other dignitaries of both home and abroad, let alone the saddhamma-loving devotees and people of all strata.

The advent of this rear and great noble personality, whose establishment is based on the wisdom of the four-fold noble truth, has become the helmsman of the revival of True Buddhism in Bangladesh. We all, with the ultimate veneration and profound gratefulness, wish a long, long life of this great noble personality.

In 1974 on the invitation of Chakma Royal Family and other leading devotees from Rangamati, His Holiness Venerable BANABHANTE came to Rangamati RajBan Vihar on the full moon day of the full moon day of Baishakh in 1977 and stayed there permanently. Though Banabhante came to the Rajbana Vihāra permanently in 1977, he spent his first rain-retreat in 1976 in the Rajbana Vihāra. Devotees come to pay respect to him and BanaBhante blessed them whole heartedly. He was preaching Buddhism among thousands of devotees from home and abroad regularly till attaining Parinirvana on January 30, 2012.